334:, and returned to Salt Lake City in 1919, by which point many other American cities had also adopted traffic lights of their own. He attempted to regain his position in the SLCPD as the Traffic Bureau's sergeant, but the officer who took his position did not wish to give it up, so Wire instead returned to regular patrol and, on January 8, 1920, joined the Detective Bureau. As a detective, Wire helped solve about 43 murder cases. Despite no longer being in the Traffic Bureau, Wire continued to improve on his traffic light designs, and eventually created a more durable metal traffic light that less resembled a birdhouse, using a
436:, where it was put on display; however, when Edith sent a letter to its owners asking that it be returned to Salt Lake City, they replied that they had coincidentally disposed of it two days before her letter arrived. When Edith died in 1973, she left her inheritance to keep the Wire Memorial Museum operating, but they had insufficient funding; trustees for the estate referred the problem to the courts, and the Utah Department of Transportation agreed to use the estate's assets to properly memorialize Wire for his contributions to traffic management.
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untapped market in the new invention, began producing traffic lights of their own. In 1914, Wire's traffic light was redesigned to replace the booth with a "coop" mounted to a pole; this otherwise had the same function as the booth. In 1926, the city introduced the "iron mike" system, automating the traffic light's operation. Wire's original traffic light was eventually retired and removed from the intersection of Main and 200 South at an unknown date, replaced by successors with newer features such as amber caution lights and automatic timers.
289:-based system was not a success and had actually killed the police officers operating it in an explosion, and no cities in Utah, if not the entire United States, had any operating traffic light systems. Concerned about his officers' working conditions (they would have to stand in the middle of the road for long hours even in inclement weather), and realizing traffic and intersections in the city would continue to outnumber and overwhelm anyone trying to manage them alone, Wire sought to devise a better and safer way to control traffic. With
178:(SLCPD). His first traffic light, a manually-operated wooden model, was built while he was head of the SLCPD's Traffic Bureau and installed in downtown Salt Lake City in 1912. Though Wire's traffic light was originally viewed with curiosity and disapproval, the public gradually accepted it over time, and by the 1920s Salt Lake City had developed an automated traffic light system inspired by Wire's invention. Wire continued to work on traffic light designs throughout his life, and later fully redesigned his traffic light using a metal frame.
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traffic each way. However, automobile traffic in this era was very chaotic and dangerous: motorists could drive however they pleased and could turn or stop wherever they wanted, and pedestrians in the street were "fair game" if they did not move out of their way fast enough. Though the traffic light had been invented decades earlier in 1868 by
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consistently and deliberately ignored his requests to install additional traffic lights. However, it became apparent over time that Wire's traffic light was an invaluable tool, and more motorists became used to the presence of traffic lights on Salt Lake City's roads, while local companies, seeing an
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Public reaction to the new traffic light was mixed, with many viewing it as either a curiosity or a nuisance: motorists unfamiliar with the traffic light simply chose to ignore it; pedestrians would gather just to watch it operate and derisively pretend it contained or was operated by birds; officers
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Wire did not file a patent for his electric traffic light after inventing it, though he reportedly considered doing so. Why he did not do so is unclear, though it has been suggested that his police duties, and later his service during World War I, prevented him from finding the time to do so. By the
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Wire's first prototype was a yellow wooden box with a pitched roof that contained red and green lights on all four sides. Wire dipped the bulbs in red and green paint to get their color as opposed to using colored glass; these colors were chosen for familiarity, as they were already being used for
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in Salt Lake City, although the public was divided on accepting them. He also managed the officers sent to respond to traffic incidents and direct traffic at the city's busy intersections. The officers would stand on small platforms in the middle of each intersection, and would direct and time
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his traffic lights, and by the 1960s both of the original models had been lost. However, his work played a significant role in the development and adoption of the traffic light in the United States. Replicas of Wire's traffic lights have been built since the loss of the originals, and his
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introduced the amber light and a series of electrical controls that would ultimately result in the automatic traffic light. Like Wire, Potts did not apply for a patent. The first inventor of a traffic light to do so was
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system, and hand-operated by a police officer in a booth at the side of the road. It was installed at the intersection of Main Street and 200 South in downtown Salt Lake City in 1912. Because it strongly resembled a
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The UDOT Traffic
Operations Center at 2060 South 2760 West in Salt Lake City includes the Lester Farnsworth Wire Memorial Library, and a replica of Wire's original wooden traffic light is displayed in the center.
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as his inspiration ("Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all"), Wire envisioned the electric traffic signal.
417:, who in 1923 patented his invention of a three-way traffic light with "STOP" and "GO" signals, as well as a third signal for pedestrians. Morgan eventually sold his patent to
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432:, where it had been used as a birdhouse, but it had disappeared shortly after Lester's death and was never recovered. The original metal traffic light had been moved to
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of the SLCPD's
Traffic Bureau, the department's first traffic enforcement unit, at the age of 24 by Chief B. F. Grant. In that position, Wire created the first
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time he did try to file a patent later in his life, it had been too long since his original invention, and he was unable to patent it per
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Lester Wire was born on
September 3, 1887, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Frank and Lida Wire. He had three sisters: Ora, Zelta, and
226:. When 4-year-old Ora and 8-year-old Zelta died of their illnesses, a controversy erupted, and Frank was ultimately charged with
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In March 1963, the Wire
Memorial Museum and Historical Association was started in his family home. His sister,
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594:"The rather unremarkable tale of Lester Wire, and the rather remarkable invention that changed the world"
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as a law student, but found it too expensive and quit to become a police officer like his father.
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805:"Black Inventor Garrett Morgan Saved Countless Lives with Gas Mask and Improved Traffic Lights"
301:. The traffic light was mounted to a 10-foot pole, wired to the electrical lines of the city's
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would often find the traffic light had been knocked over and damaged overnight; and even the
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756:"Salt Lake Telegram | 1920-01-08 | Page 13 | Wire and Hamby Made Detectives by Mayor Bock"
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The rear of Wire's grave, identifying him as the inventor of the electric traffic light
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as part of the SLCPD's "revolver team", and was well-regarded by his fellow officers.
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American police officer and inventor of the electric traffic light (1887–1958)
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on April 14, 1958, at the age of 70. He was not married. Wire was buried at
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Thatcher, Linda (1982). "Lester F. Wire
Invents the Traffic Light".
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Wire joined the Salt Lake City Police
Department in 1910. An expert
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regulations; thus, Wire never earned any money for his invention.
829:"Three signal traffic light | Bullock Texas State History Museum"
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star and helped create the first high school men's and women's
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732:"Utah officials celebrate 100th anniversary of traffic signal"
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780:"Red Light, Green Light: The Invention of the Traffic Signal"
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502:"10 Hugely Influential Figures You Didn't Know Were Mormon"
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680:"Utah inventions: The world's 1st electric traffic light"
704:"Color Me Stop And Go: The History Of The Traffic Light"
143:(September 3, 1887 – April 14, 1958) was an American
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Wire attended Salt Lake High School, where he was a
151:. He is credited with the invention of the electric
210:. In 1897, Lester and his sisters became sick with
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644:"Shedding Light on History of Traffic Signals"
35:Wire at his high school graduation, circa 1908
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356:United States Patent and Trademark Office
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297:similar purposes as nautical lights and
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396:Eight years after Wire's invention, in
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730:Tribune, David Montero The Salt Lake.
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477:"Posthumous Profiles: Lester Wire"
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500:Benedict, Raphael (2017-04-17).
176:Salt Lake City Police Department
884:20th-century American inventors
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564:. Vol. 8. Salt Lake City:
264:In 1912, Wire was appointed as
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678:Crofts, Natalie (2015-08-15).
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642:Curtiss, Aaron (1995-04-03).
566:Utah State Historical Society
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324:American Expeditionary Forces
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894:American police detectives
879:People from Salt Lake City
869:American Latter Day Saints
592:Benson, Lee (2021-01-04).
406:Detroit Police Department
259:marksmanship competitions
206:. He and his family were
131:Inventor of the electric
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112:40.7772000°N 111.858000°W
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889:American police officers
190:are memorialized by the
833:www.thestoryoftexas.com
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391:Salt Lake City Cemetery
372:Salt Lake City Cemetery
117:40.7772000; -111.858000
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45:Lester Farnsworth Wire
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338:salvaged from an old
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249:Career and invention
809:Scientific American
348:American home front
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243:University of Utah
188:traffic management
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55:September 3, 1887
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332:World War I
181:Wire never
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853:Categories
838:2023-06-25
814:2023-06-25
789:2023-06-19
765:2023-09-29
741:2017-05-22
713:2017-05-18
689:2017-05-18
653:2023-06-25
628:2023-06-24
603:2023-06-19
511:2023-06-24
486:2023-06-24
444:References
426:Edith Wire
408:Detective
340:locomotive
336:smokestack
239:basketball
212:diphtheria
198:Early life
51:1887-09-03
328:ambulance
308:birdhouse
287:semaphore
172:detective
155:in 1912.
402:Michigan
266:sergeant
255:marksman
235:football
194:(UDOT).
183:patented
174:for the
149:inventor
684:KSL.com
398:Detroit
303:trolley
285:, that
283:England
208:Mormons
279:London
224:mumps
204:Edith
164:Utah
147:and
71:Died
63:Utah
41:Born
622:BBC
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